Mushroom, Red Wine and Ham Lasagne

This is easy to make but you need to allow a bit of time: about 45 mins to an hour for the prep and then cooking time is 25 minutes from when your oven is hot. But it’s well worth it as it’s totally delicious!

Serves 4

You need 600g of mushrooms which seems like a lot but they reduce down significantly during cooking. I had a punnet of baby portobello, a punnet of woodland and a punnet of chesnut mushrooms. Chestnut are good because they hold their form when cooked. To wash or not to wash mushrooms that is the question. I wash but I know many don’t.

Alternatively you could use some fresh and some dried exotic mushrooms to add flavour and if you do, soak them in some warm milk first to re-hydrate them, and then fry them along with the other mushrooms.

This is made with fresh lasagna sheets as they don’t require any pre-cooking and simply cook in the assembled dish at the end. Dried lasagna would require more cooking so please use fresh if you can.

I use Lazy Garlic a lot as it comes pre-skinned and crushed in a jar so it’s one less thing to do but you can always use crushed fresh garlic if you prefer. I reckon 1 clove = 1 heaped tspn of Lazy Garlic.

For the Cheese sauce:

To assemble:

Fresh lasagne sheets

200g wafer thin ham

25g Parmesan cheese grated

Method

To make the mushroom mixture:

Start buy melting the knob of butter (and a small amount of oil to stop the butter burning) and frying the mushrooms in a non-stick pan. When softened use a slotted spoon to remove the mushrooms from the pan and put to one side.

Add the red onion and cook for a few minutes. Add one heaped teaspoon of Lazy Garlic and stir in.

Add the red wine and leave it to reduce which will take a few minutes.

Add the mushrooms back to the pan, season with black pepper and salt to taste and take the pan off the heat and leave to one side.

Pre-heat the oven to: 190°C, (170°C Fan) or 375°F

To make the cheese sauce:

Melt 40g of butter in a pan.

Weigh out the cornflour into a cup and add some of the milk to stir it into a runny paste. Add the rest of the milk to the butter in the pan and heat until simmering. Take off the heat, whilst slowly adding the cornflour mixture, stir (or ideally whisk) constantly until it has all been added. Place the pan back on the heat and keep stirring/whisking.

In a matter of minutes you should have a gloopy sauce, the consistency of double cream. Stir in the French mustard and add the pecorino cheese. When all the cheese has melted into the sauce taste it to make sure it’s delicious! Add black pepper to taste.

Assembly time:

Spoon out half of the mushroom mixture to form a layer in the bottom of the dish.

Cover with a layer of wafer thin ham.

Place two lasagna sheets (or enough to cover the first layer) in the dish.

Smother the lasagna in the cheese sauce using no more than half.

Create another layer with the rest of the mushroom mixture. Cover with a layer of wafer thin ham.

Add another layer of lasagna and then pour all the rest of the cheese sauce over it making sure all the pasta is covered.

Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top.

Put the dish in the oven and check it after 25 mins. Use a fork to make sure the lasagne is soft, and therefore cooked, and it should be bubbling and browning on top. Yum! Enjoy. I served it with sugar snaps.